Alvarado a champ at 157 for HU grapplers

Juan Alvarado’s championship in the 157-pound division highlighted a strong weekend for the New Mexico Highlands wrestling team Nov. 17 at the Holiday Inn Open hosted by Nebraska-Kearney.

Alvarado went 5-0 and took the final with a 2-1 verdict, earning Outstanding Wrestler honors in the tourney’s Amateur Division.

Most of the Cowboys competed in the Amateur Division, with two reaching their championship matches and two others placing in the top six.

Igor Gomzin, a junior from St. Petersburg, Russia, who joined the Cowboys at midseason last year, placed fourth in the Elite Division’s 184-pound bracket. Gomzin was 4-1 before his day ended due to injury default.

Like Alvarado, NMHU 174-pounder Easton Hargrave wrestled his way to the title match in his weight class. Hargrave lost in overtime and finished in second place with a 4-1 record.

Francisco Bernal went 3-2 in the Amateur Division’s 197-pound draw, placing fourth.

Also in the 197 division, Justin Rockhill went 2-1, falling in the semifinals due to an illegal slam. He ended up in sixth place.

The Holiday Inn Open was the third tourney of the fall for the Cowboys following the Oklahoma City Open on Nov. 4 and the Colorado Open on Nov. 10 in Grand Junction, Colo.

NMHU and head coach Doug Moses grapple in the Bob Smith Open on Saturday, Dec. 1, in Hays, Kan.

That will be the team’s last scheduled event of the 2012 calendar year, with action resuming Jan. 6.